The logs, obtained by the investigative journalism body ProPublica, showed that an Ilyushin 76 cargo plane belonging to the Syrian Air Force made eight round trips between Moscow's Vnukovo Airport and Damascus over three months this year.

Each time the planes carried stated cargo of 30 tonnes of banknotes, the logs showed.

According to the Independent, this suggests that a total of 240 tonnes of currency, equivalent to roughly 240m notes, made its way from Russia to Syria.

Goznak, the Russian state body that prints banknotes, has confirmed that in recent months it has provided currency to the Syrian regime.